Liver shot ?
Whitetail Deer
Just shot the biggest buck of my life. He jumped my string though and I thought I hit mid body maybe a little back
The arrow looks better than I expected. No smell and no gut matter
Think it’s liver but not sure I’ll post a pic of the arrow
Give him time! At least 6 hours. Especially if it’s early am.
The two liver shots I’ve had had 100 yards if good blood that stopped there. And I found them the next day 100 yards from last blood just by wandering around.
Good luck.
Hard to tell but could very well be. Give him some time. Looks like you already have blood on the ground as well so that is good. Good luck and let us know!!.
What Greg said! A good 6 hours - sometimes a liver hit can take awhile!
Good luck
Yes I found good blood but I didn’t push it and got out. He’s bleeding well the first 10yds
Put my dog on a liver shot deer last eve. Have the buck 5 hours (all I could get the Hunter to wait!). Deer went about 150 yards and was still limber - guessing dead about an hour.
I'm not one for waiting that long. If it is a solid liver hit then he will be down within 100 yards most likely. I would give him 2 hours and start hunting him. That doesn't mean running around will-nilly...that means following the blood just like are stalking him. look well out in front of you as you go.
I shot him at 815 central time
I plan on waiting until at least 1
The arrow looked better than I expected
With it covered in so much blood and the coloring of the blood and there being no smell can I rule out intestines ?
Which side did you hit? The liver is on the right side.
You are unsure. Wait. Go in as you noted, 1 or 2. GO SLOW and full stealth mode. Use bino's and scan all around every few steps.
To me it looks like a pretty good hit, not guts/intestines. However, as many others have stated, when in doubt wait a bit. It's tough for us playing armchair quarterback without a lot of details and being there in person, but to me that looks like pretty solid vital hit. Just don't push him on a death run that may be several hundred yards and hard to follow. Let him bed and die. Then share pics.
Liver hits are so inconsistent. Had them die within an hour but also still living 12 hours later.
Good luck, liver shots are deadly if you hit the vasculature of the liver, if not you could be in for a long poor blood trail
Jaquomo I hit the right side
I may have hit better than I thought it happened fast. He came in on a doe. I stopped him and he stepped right as I shot but I felt like it was more mid body like I said
My last liver hit arrow, the buck went at least a mile, bedded down about 20 times and we ran out of blood, found it 50 yards past the last blood by fluke. I left him sit over night
Definitely wait at least 4 hours, then go find him! Good luck
Shawn Magyar (BD06)- piss off and let Jon (live2hunt88) figure this out. He just shot the biggest buck of his life you freaking tool.
Jon- I hope you find him. I say it’s a dead deer. Keep us updated. Good luck.
If legal and your budget allows. Call a legit tracking dog. A freind of mine operates in multiple states with his dog. And the things his dog can do are amazing. Most don’t call him until the trail has been tainted by grid searches.
From your details given. I agree with the other suggestions. Wait 4-6 hrs and sneak in down wind. And try to stay off the trail so if you have to call a dog later it’s no tainted. Legit dogs follow hoof gland scent and the deers individual scent and breath excreted on plants. Not blood.
If you shot him at 8:15 AM, wait till at least 3:00 PM.
He will not go bad in that time, even if he died before 8:16 AM. You will have at least 2 hours to find him before dark.
If he is still alive, that extra time will help to stiffen him up.
Still would be very slow and methodical stalking in on the blood trail!
Good luck! Let us know how it turns out!
What Treeline said. Good luck and show us a pic!
Here is a deer I shot and the arrow looked exactly like yours very good blood and no stink to it. As I was trailing my buddy says is that stomach matter mixed with the blood? I pick up the leaf and it sure was but did not show itself earlier and no stink and zero contents on the arrow. I should have backed out but the blood was so good I thought it was for sure dead. Blood petered out so we went back in the morning and he was 80 yards away from last blood. When I cut him open their was digested acorns that filled up his entire cavity. I was blown away as the hit was not real far back.
You guys must just be unlucky, or deer are allot tougher than moose or elk, Liver hit moose and elk for me never went more than 125 yds most walk off and die within 40 yards. But I never follow up immediately. Just my experience over the last 60 years. If you hit the liver solid and you can tell because the arrow will not penetrate very far compared to a lung hit. The animal will not want to move far.
The arrow looks promising to me. But I’d still do what Treeline said. “Stalk” the blood trail arrow nocked and alone. No need for extra people/noise until you’ve lost blood or start grid searching. Use your binoculars to scan ahead and into brush. Be ready to shoot again, wounded bucks will sometimes hold amazingly tight, just assume he’s still alive. Good luck we’ll be waiting for the trophy pictures!
Fingers crossed for you. What type of broadheads? Not trying to stir the pot, there are some differences in entrance and exits by 2 blade or 3 blade or different types and cut swath of expendables. Obviously wait as long as you can and try not to over think it. Try to track stealthy quiet with binos looking forward. Looking foreword to pics and story!
Bowyer, I would rather find an animal dead at the end of a 125 yard blood trail, 7-8 hours after shooting it, than jump it after not waiting long enough and have it run off with little to no blood trail…
Maybe start sooner if it’s going to start snowing or raining soon but definitely being cautious slipping in there, even after 8 hours!
Chris S I shot him with the Sevr titanium 2.0
Waiting has been killing me but I know it needs to be done. Part of me wants to wait til morning just to ensure not bumping him and still having daylight to my advantage.
Follow 100 yards If know deer by then, mark direction, last blood, etc Back out and try in the morning
Since this is still happening pretty much real-time….
What did you hear at the hit and as he ran off? Did the arrow zip clear through and stick in the dirt, or did it stop, flop and get get dragged free? Did you find the arrow in one piece/location or two? What kind of broadhead were you using? How much internal damage did you probably do?
You have to put yourself in the same frame of mind as the animal.
On a death run, they don’t seem to run around many obstacles - they just Run.
If he got smacked hard, couple broken ribs, arrow flopping around in his guts, he probably ran like hell just out of fear until he recognized that there was nothing chasing him. Then what?
Depending on how bad he was feeling, he might bed down right away; might stand there watching for a pursuer. Then what?
If he wasn’t feeling bad enough to bed down, he might well start back after that doe he’d been following, especially if he knows a trail that runs down-wind of where he would expect the doe(s) to be headed. A LOT of times, a spooked deer will loop back and down-wind of that spot to ID the threat or just to play the wind to get around it…
Your best case is that he ran hard and crashed. Second best, he bedded down. In which case he’ll be watching his backtrail (and down-wind); recall that he’ll likely circle down-wind of his backtrail to watch it. If you bump him him, Woe will ensue.
You just have to realize that you are now still-hunting an animal that would rather hide than run. But you know he’s there and you have tracks to follow.
What is the temperature in your area today? What about coyote population?
Good luck, I hope the sevr gives you a good blood trail.
Please don't wait until morning if you care at all about the meat. Coyotes might have it gone.
Hope you're able to find him. Please keep us posted and good luck!
How is it going? I can't wait to hear a happy story..
Sevr should leave a good wound channel. When you take up the trail if you get past 100 yards I’d back out until tomorrow if that’s is indeed an option. And maybe still hunt in the area watching for birds overhead or scavengers moving in the area they may tip you off if he is dead nearby. Fingers crossed
A buddy of mine hit a deer in the liver with a NAP killzone at 730 AM the other day. Jumped it at 10 and the neighbor jumped it around 4:00 going into his evening stand. They recovered the deer the following AM, it had gone around 750-800 yards.
You must nit have got a good look at the point of impact with arrow Liver is just above halfway up at the end of the rib cage if that helps. Some liver hits also leave blood on the arrow. If you have good blood the firdt 10 yards, wait 2 hours and slow trail it. You will likwly learn whst you need to know from the blood trail.
If it has been answered I apologize but did you hear a pop or a thud on impact?
The reason I ask is I shot a doe this morning. I heard a loud pop but she didn’t respond like a double lung hit deer. She went 100 yards and 3 hours later was barely hanging onto life. I had to put another arrow in her to end things quicker. My shot was a complete pass through with a SevR 1.5.
Shot was liver, 1 lung hit. Slight quartering away shot.
Mid body I would wait till morning. You would be rolling the dice with coyotes but better to find a chewed up deer then no deer at all.
Good luck and I hope there is a happy ending to your biggest buck quest.
It depends on what you hit in the liver. Hit the large artery/vein and they won’t go 100 yards before they tip over. Miss that large artery/vein and it’s a long tracking job - as others have said - WAIT 5-6 hrs before slowly tracking.
Well no luck. I followed blood for a little ways and it dwindled out. I grid searched for a bit and had no luck. So I backed out and am calling a tracker
The sevr has always given me a good blood trail on multiple animals. That said this shot was bad on my part so I’m not going to blame the head for lack of blood.
It did its job and I had a complete pass through. Arrow was in one piece and laying on the grass opposite side of where I hit him
Wise to back off.... Liver shots are fatal, just don't push him, at this time of evening/night 7PM, if me would wait until morning, if you already push him, hard to tell how far he'll run before laying down t to die... If you didn't spook him and is liver shot, he should be dead with a couple hundred yards...
Sorry to hear that, but hopefully the tracking dog will find him. Best of luck, and keep us posted!
Good to back out and damn good move to get a dog. Believe in the dog!
Buddy shot his bull elk this year in the liver in the morning. Thought it was a better shot but when he found the arrow and sent me a picture, I told him to back out and the shot was further back than he thought. Told him to call a tracker. He called a tracker and they got on it with about 2 or 3 hours of daylight left. Followed the dog for about 400 yards and the dog handler thought the dog was on the wrong elk scent and pulled off.
Told my buddy that the bull was probably still alive and a good chance that they had bumped him. Told him to get back up in the morning and start where the dog stopped and slowly work down through the timber looking and smelling.
His girlfriend found the bull less than 100 yards from where they pulled the dog off at about 10:00 am. The bull was dead and had probably died in the cold of early morning. No lost meat at all.
If they had believed in the dog, he was on the right trail. Most likely that bull was still alive that evening though and could have possibly gotten away from them without a follow up shot opportunity.
If you have a good dog, you’ll find him tomorrow! Looking forward to seeing the buck!
I shot a buck quartered away years ago with a liver hit. Arrow looked like I had dunked it into a can of red paint. He ran 30 yards and stopped. I didn't have a follow up shot but could see the point of impact. He then trotted off. I waited several hours before taking up the trail had decent blood for 100 yards or so and then just petered out. Slick trick 4 blade. It was in mature hard woods with ridges. I never did find that deer, still bugs me to this day! I hope you're able to recover him. I think liver is one of the hardest to recover. I would honestly rather have a pure gut shot.
I’ve never used a dog but this dog and handler come from several references and he has found a lot of deer. Handler seems convinced we will find this deer based on where I hit him and looking at the arrow.
Liver hits, as others have said, are all over the place. You won’t know until you find the deer. I once shot a big boar hog through the liver with a .300 WSM and he ran 150 yards and onto a neighboring property. I didn’t follow him onto that place because I didn’t know the neighbor (absentee landowner) and I didn’t want to tresspass. Buzzards told me where he was a few days later. I hope you have better luck !
Tracker drove up from Kentucky to the farm in Illinois. Got in at 1am we found him in 20min!
Great buck. Congratulations
Congratulations on the your buck and the recovery!
What did the post mortem reveal?
Say hello to Lucy my newest family member. Drove to Georgia Sunday to get her. Been involved with several liver hit deer over the years. Most don't go far if left alone. Usually the blood trail gets better the father you go because it takes time For the inside to fill with blood. The only one I've ever pushed went about a mile but there was no choice. A big snow storm was coming that night & when I found him he was completely submerged except the head in a creek still alive looking at me.
Congrats on finding you buck.
Great outcome well earned
Congrats! Great buck and good job getting the dog involved. Be sure to give more details at some point.
Congrats Jon! Glad you guys found him.
Awesome! Glad you found him. Like Brettpsu stated above, give us some details, please.
Awesome congrats on a great deer.
Nice job with getting the dog there.
That’s awesome! Very happy for you. Great deer.
Spectacular! Congratulations, Jon!
This is great news too see this morning, very happy you found your buck.
Congrats to you on the great buck and not giving up!
I really do love a happy ending.
Nice buck. Congratulations.
He was quartered away more than I thought at the shot I took out the liver completely barely cut guts. The entrance was back like I suspected but the exit was more far forward than I expected.
He didn’t go 100yds from where I shot him. He actually died in the creek, which I had checked that afternoon when grid searching before backing out so he wasn’t quite dead when I was looking for him.
I’ve never used a dog but man they made quick work of that track. Unloaded at 1am and in my hands literally 20min later. Thanks everyone for the help and advice I’ll post better pics today
Congrats!! Good call getting a dog.
If you covered that creek bed. You were obviously bumping the deer. Then he died after you quit pushing him. At least he didn’t line out and leave the property Very nice deer.
Congratulations! Great buck!
That is awesome I’m glad you found him!
Was he stiffened up yet? If he was still alive when you were looking, he likely stuck tight and let you walk by then might have moved a little to get into tighter cover.
Sounds like he was hurting too bad to line out and really go.
Liver hits are pretty much always fatal but can take time and not put much blood on the ground.
Happy for the outcome!
Congrats on a great buck, what an adventure!
Awesome! congrats.
How long do you think he had been dead?
Congrats Jon, glad it worked out and a great buck!!
This thread is what Bowsite should be all about. Trying to help someone through an issue, with no BS or bravado and learn a few things along the way.
Awesome and Congrats. Nothing like a happy ending!
Awesome deer! Congrats and nice work to you and the hound!
Great educational story for me... that's a terrible feeling to think about losing an animal. Congratulations... job well done. Ed F
Wow great buck with a happy ending.
Great job with sticking with it and big congrats to you on a great buck.
Great buck Jon. Like others have said glad you recovered the deer. I have never used a tracking dog. Sounds like he/she did a fantastic job. How far did the dog owner travel to your location and is there a set fee and or tipping? Perhaps a young dog and the owner was happy to give it some work???
Whatever the cost I'm sure it was worth every penny of it.
Congrats on the happy ending!
Awesome! Meat plus trophy, intact!
Well done, Congrats!
Great buck. Nice that you got the meat also. Seems odd that with the details put out that the deer took so long to die and that you did not jump the deer when following the blood trail or during the grid search considering how close the deer was found from the shot sight. Did the dog track the deer trail to show you the deers movement or just smell the deer and go to it?. Were you able to back track the blood trail from the recovery site to figure more about what happened after the shot?
Congrats! Glad you recovered him.
Mooseslayer I have a friend who hunts next to my family farm in Illinois. He leases a farm in Kentucky and knew this guy. He has an amazing track record
On Track K9 Big Game recovery out of Kentucky. Lance and his 6yr old bloodhound Hank came to the rescue. Drove up 3hrs from Kentucky. It did cost me some money but it’s worth every penny to me. Hank has recovered over 400 deer and has an 85% recovery rate. I recommend anyone who needs a dog give them a call. They did outstanding work. Actually left here and headed over to Ohio for another job
Way cool live2hunt88,,, CONGRATS!!!
Gotta luv a tracking dog...
That's a beauty timex, but yours cant sleep on your head like mine...8^)))
Congratulations on the recovery, great buck.
Congratulations! That's a beautiful buck for sure!
Great job in practicing patience.
Based on the track, did the deer circle back at some point to end up where it did? It would be really useful to know what the deer did and where it travelled relative to where you searched,
Congrats! I'm glad it worked out well for you.
What’s a guy charge to run that far and wide to lookfor deer
I paid $800 for him to come to me last night Bou. He said it’s typically cheaper than that but being that far of distance and he wouldn’t be able to get on other tracks he had to up charge which was fine with me. The guy was super nice and friendly and his dog got right to work.
Matt the deer did circle back right toward the end but he didn’t make it far before his final bed
For reference the guy I know is $150 if it’s local
they start the season in Kentucky and moves with the seasons but around his home it’s $150
Glad you found him, that’s a nice buck ! Nothing like a good tracking dog……
"Matt the deer did circle back right toward the end but he didn’t make it far before his final bed"
Thanks. Did you find beds along the track? If so, how far did he go before bedding? Could you tell how long he had been dead?
Great buck! Glad it worked out so well.
Great! Good on you for sticking with it. Congrats, nice buck!
You played that perfectly
Matt, I'm like you. I especially enjoy reading when the men give the details of the hunt, shot placement, and recovery. Even though I'm 62 I still have a lot to learn.
live2hunt88, your other deer on your profile are nice ones too! Good luck when you get back home here in Okla.
I had a buddy that hit a elk this year and contacted me on his Inreach looking for a tracker. I know a guy but not well that has a tracking dog. I talked to him about meeting him up there. Apparently in CO they are not allowed to charge other than mileage. He acted like it was a big deal. I asked him ok what would you consider a good tip for coming. He reluctantly gave me a answer to that question but not sure he would have accepted it for worrying of getting in trouble.
Good looking deer live2hunt glad it worked out for you.
Matt it looked like he only bedded once and then got up and made it to his final bed in a high banked creek. Died right next to a large puddle of water. I assume he got a final drink and took his final bed.
Bou thank you ! The tracker said the same thing. He said it makes finding the deer a lot easier if you’re not in there kicking up all the ground scent and bumping the deer
Thanks again guys for all the advice and help. Glad I was able to recover him and save the meat as well
Had to snap a picture skinning him out with my Grandpa. We’ve been hunting and fishing buddies since I could walk.
The photos I posted I didn’t feel did his mass any justice. Thought I’d post one more
Awesome pic with your Grandpa. Congratulations
Love that pic with your grandpa!
Great buck and cool story! Congrats!!
Very nice buck- Congrats.
Glad the tracking efforts were a success.
He’s a great deer. Congrats!
Follow 100 yards If know deer by then, mark direction, last blood, etc Back out and try in the morning
Cherish every moment you can with your grandfather! Can tell from that smile as he is skinning that he is bursting at the seams with happiness just to be a small part of your success!
Glad you got him! Enjoyable to see a positive end to the story! Great buck - dogs are awesome! I’ve got a pure mutt that lives to track. I enjoy taking her on a track as much as the hunt.
Lee
Congrats! A dogs nose is amazing!
That last pic really shows off what a great buck he is.
